I’m heading up north for a few days and I get this incredible urge to clean everything around me. It’s the going away feeling that when I come back, I want to know that everything is in its proper place. My life is pretty much a whirlwind that starts as a slight breeze on Monday, moves into a gust of wind on Wednesday, and then a tornado comes through over the weekend. My room gets clothes all over the floor, the sink has toothpaste marks in it, and bottles of Gatorade are strewn about. That’s why I like going away because it makes me start fresh.
I even like the idea of packing the night before I make a trip. I put away all my excess clothes, get what I’m going to wear for the trip, make sure I don’t forget anything and then neatly put everything out. In recent memory I rarely forget anything but one time I didn’t have my running shoes and bought a $30 dollar pair from Marshall’s. I usually like to bring my golf clubs when I go away and pick a course that I can play in the afternoon after I check into my hotel. One of the joys in my life is playing a course in a foreign area by myself.
I’m incredibly efficient on the road as well. I’ve been on trips with my dad and we are world’s apart on how to travel. We’d get 50 miles down the road and he’d want to stop at the rest stop to take a shit. Then 100 miles down and eat at the Waffle House. Then a lunch break that takes an hour. I wake up at 5am, get on the road, then hit as many destinations I can before 3:30 (I find making stops after that time is annoying to the people who work there). I eat fast food for lunch but I’m a warrior on the road.
Being 30, I’ve been making trips like this since I was 22 or 23. I started making 2 a year and now will probably make between half a dozen and dozen. I used to get nervous walking into stores trying to sell them goods without understanding how the market (or product) REALLY works. Meaning, I’d know minimal about my product, know even less about how the distribution network, and not be fully aware of price points and competition. Now I know all the manufacturers, all the prices, all the networks, and many people involved. With this knowledge, you’d be amazed at how much better the trip goes. I can still fumble around and sometimes I’m not pushy enough for the sale but I feel comfortable in the spot and there are no more nerves.
Slightly unrelated – but I keep a pair of running shoes in my trunk in case I find myself in need or see a place I’d really like to run. It also helps that I wear short shorts as boxers half the time.